Mr Wong's Emporium

[Episode 11 | 1908 : Evelyn]

Evelyn, Edward and Freddie try to replace the fireworks. They visit Mr Wong's emporium to buy a replacement box but find they can't afford it. They then try to obtain some gunpowder in an attempt to make their own fireworks.

History activities [5]

Activity 1: Multicultural Australia

Subtheme(s):
Multiculturalism; Politics; Social order and education

In the early years of the twentieth century, at the time of the Federation of the colonial states and territories, many important events occurred in Australia. These include:

the implementation of laws to improve working conditions and devise fairer wages

the extension of the vote to non-Indigenous women

the introduction of the White Australia policy, which restricted immigration.

The new Australian Constitution discriminated against Indigenous Australians by excluding them from the national census and preventing parliament from making laws about them.At the time of Federation in 1901, three quarters of the population were Australian born, the majority of English, Scottish and Irish descent. The Chinese, who had represented 3.3% of the population in 1861, represented 0.8% of the population at the time of Federation.

Discover

Students can research why and when Chinese people came to Australia. Mr Wong is a significant character in this episode and his story could be a good starting point for discussing the reasons Chinese people came to Australia at different times. Why might Mr Wong have come to live in Australia?

Reflect

As a class, look at the laws and policies of Australia that have had an impact on Chinese Australians. How might Mr Wong have been affected by Australian laws and policies?

Students could develop a timeline of Chinese migration to Australia. The timeline should use dates, images and reasons for coming to Australia.

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Activity 2: Mr Wong

Subtheme(s):
Multiculturalism

Mr Wong's Emporium seems to be a hub for the local people. He sells everything from fireworks to paper products. He knows the local children and is friendly and cheerful. We know that Mr Wong's Emporium is quite established, as it appeared in Episode 12: 1898: Rowley.

Reflect

Who is Mr Wong? Students can create an imaginary profile for Mr Wong using the 'historyface' template in Student Activity Sheet H11.5, with information and old photos from their research on the Chinese community in Australia in the early 1900s. Students need to include his date of birth, background information, family information, status updates and anything else of interest.

Ask students to design a postcard that Mr Wong might have sent back to China, informing his relatives about his life in Australia. The postcard should have an image on one side and text on the other.

The reference book, Australian decimal currency: an introduction for teachers by the Australian Decimal Currency Board (1965) has some interesting information.

Reflect

Ask students to bring current Australian coins of each denomination to class. Photocopy or download pictures of coins from the early 1900s. Students can compare the coins they use today to the coins of the 1900s by using the table in Student Activity Sheet H11.6. They can trace or rub over the coins they have brought into class, as well as cutting and pasting the pictures of the old coins.

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Activity 4: The price of bread

Subtheme(s):
Currency; Food

Discover

What did a loaf of bread cost back then? In pairs, students research the cost of everyday essential items like bread and milk in the early 1900s, and compare it to the cost of the same items today. Ask students to conduct an online search and utilise reference books in the library.

Students can develop a cost-comparison chart by listing the items they have researched and converting the pre-decimal amounts into decimal currency. They can use the list on the template provided in Student Activity Sheet H11.7 and add other items if they wish. On the chart, include images of actual advertisements for these commodities.

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Activity 5: Gunpowder

Subtheme(s):
Celebrations; Inventions and electronic media

Discover

In this clip, Evelyn, Edward and Freddie try to create fireworks by obtaining gunpowder. Why does this plan fail? What are the ingredients of gunpowder; where and when was it invented, and by whom? A useful website to start your research with is Wikipedia, 'Gunpowder', http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/Gunpowder

As a class, discuss the benefits and risks associated with gunpowder.

Reflect

Ask students to research the origins of gunpowder and list some technological advances in its use across time. They could develop a timeline of the developments associated with gunpowder.